Valentine Dilemma
by Paulina Ann
Summary: HB: 6/7 yo. Next in story arc after "Fall Thievery." Just a quick one-shot to build on the relationships. Oh, the angst of a 5th grade Valentine's Day. Yeah, not my best summary, but it will do. Just one chapter.


**Valentine Dilemma**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own the Hardy Boys or any of the book characters.I do have some OCs though that are mine.

 **Rating/Setting:** Rating is K+. Setting is pre-Blue Spine as the boys are in 5th and 6th grades.

 **Author's Notes:** This story follows "Cheaters Never Prosper" and "Fall Thievery." While it isn't necessary to read those stories to understand this one, events from previous stories may be referenced. Just another short story, this time a one-shot building on the relationships.

 **Extra Note:** And for those of you asking for a teenage Joe/Frank story, well I'm chapter eight of a 16/17yo story. ;-D

* * *

Laura Hardy sighed as she mixed up the ingredients for the casserole she was making for supper. Frank and Joe had managed to avoid mysteries, crime, and school drama for awhile once the Triple H thefts were explained. Fall had transitioned smoothly to winter and now it was February and they were over halfway through the school year.

Looking at the calendar, she smiled. It was February 1st and both boys had a school dance on Friday, February 12th. Frank had already told her he was going 'stag' to Strasmore Middle School's dance. He planned to hang out with Chet and Phil who were also going single. Frank had blushed furiously when she had asked if there was a girl he was interested in. He had sputtered, "No!" She smiled thinking back to it.

Joe's reaction to her question about a date for the Coffer Elementary dance was different. While he had turned red, he had been speechless and similar to a deer in the headlights. After staring at her for over thirty seconds, he just turned and left the room without answering. She knew Iola had a crush on Joe but she wasn't sure how Joe really felt. She knew he liked her as a friend, but did he have a crush? While she thought the boys were too young to use words like "love" and "forever," she knew that young fragile egos could be badly injured by hurtful words or bruised feelings that often accompanied young infatuation. She would hate to see Joe and Iola's friendship dented or broken because of romantic drama between ten year olds.

She would be helping out at the elementary school dance. It was open to all the grade levels at the school and was more of a fund raiser for the PTO than anything in the romance department - which was entirely appropriate for an elementary school. _Kids grow up way too fast as it is_ , she thought. Laura had enjoyed the last couple of years helping out. A large number of parents attended the dance with their small children so it was a family and community event, not just a school event.

Glancing at the calendar one more time, she sighed as she put the casserole dish into the oven. In less than two weeks whatever drama might happen would be over… hopefully.

Joe looked at himself in the mirror. He looked over his blue button up shirt with a white tee shirt underneath and khaki pants. His mom had said the shirt matched his bright blue eyes. He shrugged looking between the reflection of his eyes and the shirt and guessed they were pretty similar.

It was the night of the dance and for the first time since he began attending these, he felt nervous. In the past, girls weren't even on his radar. But now, there was a girl on his radar and he didn't know what to think about it. With one last glance at the mirror he turned and left his room.

At the same time Joe was looking at himself in the mirror over his dresser, Frank was doing the same. Looking at his collar he wondered, _Should I be wearing a tie? No, Mom said it would be okay without one_. Still, he gave the uncertain collar another glance. The red button up shirt complimented his dark hair and eyes. The top of a black tee shirt could be seen where the top button was left undone. Turning to his bed, he grabbed the black belt and threaded it through the loops on his black slacks. His mom had thought the darker pants would look nice so he went with her opinion. Looking back into the mirror one more time, he decided she was right.

Exiting his room into the hall, he saw Joe coming out of his room as well. Frank smiled at his brother and walked up beside him. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Joe seemed to be a little taller. Then he was distracted from his brother's height to the rather somber expression on his face. Frowning slightly, Frank asked, "What's wrong?"

Joe let out a breath and shook his head as he moved toward the top of the stairs. "It's nothing, Frank."

"Well, you don't look like you're going to have any fun." Frank followed Joe down the steps into the living room. Their mom would take Joe to his dance and Fenton was taking Frank to his. Both sets would be leaving in about 10-15 minutes.

Plopping onto the couch, Joe looked at his hands in his lap. "It's Iola."

"What about her? She was at the dance last year and you didn't have any problem with it," Frank said as he sat next to Joe.

Leaning back on the cushions, Joe closed his eyes as he responded, "What if she wants to dance?"

Frank frowned at Joe. "You dance with her, you nut."

Opening his eyes and adjusting so that they were on his brother, "What if it's a _slow_ dance?" Joe thought Frank was being a little dense for such a smart guy.

The light bulb went off in Frank's head. "Ohhhhhhh," he said. Girls were an area he felt very inadequate in, in terms of providing advice to his younger brother. "Um, well, um."

"Yeah, that's exactly I how feel too," Joe said as he closed his eyes again. "Do you think Mom would believe me if I told her I was sick?"

Frank let out a chuckle. "Probably not. But, Joe, it's Iola. What makes you even think she wants to dance with you?"

Keeping his eyes closed, Joe shrugged slightly. "I don't know. Ever since last summer, things have started getting 'different' between us."

"What do you mean different? She seems just the same to me." Frank knew that wasn't entirely true. Chet had told him back after school started that Iola had a crush on Joe. He had even encouraged it a little. But that was only because he thought Joe actually like Iola a little himself. The conversation was starting to get a little awkward to him since he didn't want to divulge Iola's crush or his knowledge of it. He also didn't want to be keeping secrets from his brother.

"I don't know, Frank. It's just _different_. She likes holding my hand. She whispers in my ear. She _smiles_ at me." Joe opened his eyes when Frank laughed out loud.

"Joe, she smiles at all of us."

"Not this smile," Joe said as he frowned at his still smiling brother.

"Well, I guess the question is how do you feel about it?"

Sitting up, Joe said, "You won't laugh at me?" As Frank shook his head no, Joe let out another deep breath. "I don't know how feel. I like her, but she's one of us."

"You mean, she's like a guy?"

"Yeah, she's one of 'us' and I don't want 'us' to change," Joe said thoughtfully.

"Well, 'us' will change as we get older. We'll get girlfriends and she'll get a boyfriend-" Frank stopped as he saw the angry frown appear on his brother's face.

"That's just it, Frank. I don't want her to get a boyfriend," Joe said somewhat angrily. Then realizing he was talking to his brother, the animosity left his tone. "I don't like it when she seems interested in other guys."

Frank nodded at his brother. "Then you should dance with her if she asks."

"Really?" It was as if Joe needed to be reassured that dancing with Iola was okay.

"Yeah. You like her. You don't want her to dance with anyone else, so if she asks you, you should do it if you want to. After all, if you say no, she might ask some other guy."

Joe frowned at the thought of Iola dancing with some other guy. "Yeah, I probably should." A smile spread across his face, "If I don't, I'll stand by frowning and wanting to punch the guy."

"Yeah, and we know about your great impulse control." Both boys laughed at Frank's so-true comment.

"Thanks, Frank."

"Anytime, Joe."

"So. Is there a girl you plan on dancing with tonight?" Joe asked as a red flush crept up his brother's neck to his face.

"Um, no."

"Seriously? There's no one?"

This time Frank let out a held breath. "Nope."

"Well, if a girl asks you to dance tonight, maybe you should say yes too," Joe said encouragingly.

Frank hadn't thought about it, but maybe his brother was right. It could happen. Smiling, he looked to the stairs where their parents were descending and laughing. "Maybe I will, Joe. Maybe I will.

Joe stood to the side talking to Tony and Biff. He was trying to keep an eye on Iola without being obvious. So far, he had danced some fast dances and group dances, but Iola hadn't asked him for any of the slow dances. He had already prepared himself to be asked and now that it hadn't happened, he found himself wishing it would.

Hearing the DJ preface the start to a slow song, Joe excused himself from his friends and went to find Iola.

Morgan Darcy was a fifth grade girl in Biff's class who was also a friend of Iola's. She was talking with Iola when the DJ started his intro for the slow song. "Come on, Iola. You like him. He's your friend. You CAN ask him to dance," Morgan said with a smile.

"Yeah, I know. But it's a slow song and that means dancing close and Joe just sees me as one of the guys." Iola's voice sounded forlorn as she answered.

Morgan glanced over Iola's shoulder and saw Joe moving in their direction. She knew that Iola had made it a point to be looking anywhere but at Joe when a slow song came on. A smile formed on her glossy lips as she led Iola into a revealing response. "But you like him don't you? If you don't dance with him, someone else might ask him instead."

Iola frowned at Morgan. She and Morgan had been talking about Joe and Biff since the school year started. Morgan knew how she felt and it was just mean to say some other girl might dance with Joe. However, she knew that Morgan was right. "Yeah, I like him. I just don't think he likes me that way." Her pretty pixie face dropped forward so she was looking down. "I'd hate to see him dancing with some other girl."

Joe had walked up behind Iola as she was speaking and a smile was on his face as he looked at Morgan. Clearing his throat, he was rewarded to see Iola's head snap up and then watched as she slowly turned to face him.

Iola was mortified to say the least. When her head snapped up, she stared into her friend's eyes. Her eyes conveyed what she couldn't say right now: _How could you?_ Morgan only smiled and gave her a wink before walking away. Iola turned slowly to face Joe. "Um… Joe… well, I… Um…"

Joe's face was red as he said, "You look really pretty tonight, Iola." His eyes skimmed over her dress briefly before returning to her face. Her cheeks were almost the same shade of dusty rose that her dress was.

"Thanks." Running her hand across the jacquard fabric, she thought about how this dress was her favorite. It stopped just above her knee and had a slight flair to the skirt while the top had a sweetheart neckline and short cap sleeves. "I got it to attend my cousin's wedding last year and it's too dressy for church, but Mom said it would be perfect for the dance." Iola's face turned pink again as she realized she was rambling.

Joe smiled and realized that Iola was just as nervous as he was. After hearing her talk to Morgan, he knew that he had to dance with her. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that there were several couples on the floor and the song had just begun. Looking back at Iola, he held out his hand, "Would you like to dance?"

Her deep green eyes were locked onto his blue ones. She didn't even see his outstretched hand. His words were echoing in her mind…. Then she saw his smile falter and his hand began to drop. Realizing that he was taking her silence for rejection she quickly reached out to take his hand. Smiling broadly, she said, "I'd love to dance with you, Joe."

Letting out the breath he hadn't known he was holding, he turned and let her out onto the dance floor. As Iola's arm moved around his neck, he realized this wasn't such a bad thing. His arms went around her body to hold her tight as she laid her head on his chest. He was certain she could hear the pounding of his heart, but he didn't care.

Laura Hardy looked on from the table where she was helping to sell snacks. Biff Hooper's mother, Carmen, leaned over and nudged Laura. Joe's mother looked over to see her son lead Iola out on the dance floor. Carmen laughed and whispered, "Better look out, Laura, this is only the start."

Smiling, Laura realized that Carmen was right. Frank was the spitting imagine of his father and she knew how handsome her husband was. Joe took after her side of the family and with his eyes, he looked very much like her brother, Ben. She frowned a little as she thought of all the girls that had thrown themselves at her brother when they were in school. Then her eyes found Joe and Iola. This might just be the beginning, but then again…. She saw Iola lift her head and gaze into her son's eyes…. Perhaps it might just be the end. Her smile grew. Perhaps you could find your true love at a fifth grade Valentine's dance.


End file.
